Down By the River
by itsapagething
Summary: Before Pass/Fail, or as if Pass/Fail never happened. Claire and Gretchen decided to take defending against Becky into their own hands, and employ an old friend of Gretchen's to help.


"I know a guy who can help", Gretchen said after deciding she was sick and tired of worrying about whether Becky was hiding in the room...invisibly.

"Perfect. Where?" Claire responded.

"Conveniently close. But I have to warn you, she doesn't take well to new people."

"She? You just said you know a guy," Claire responded, a little surprised by the slight jealousy in her tone.

"Did I? My bad," Gretchen said, secretly pleased about getting Claire a little riled. "She's got a shop a little further into town, and she can definitely help us."

*

They left their dorm room quickly. It was mid-afternoon and the sun was setting earlier those days. They arrived at 'Billy's Wire Works', but right before Claire pulled the door open, Gretchen grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the side, away from the building's window.

Gretchen looked a little nervous, which surprised Claire. She was usually pretty cool, and this was _her_ friend; so why be nervous? "She's really....stern."

"Oh, scary. A stern lady. You're right, we should probably turn around right now."

Gretchen rolled her eyes at the sarcasm. "I'm serious, Claire. She's not cool with new people."

"You'll be right there with me won't you? You're not new. What's the big deal?"

"You should go in alone. I'll wait back here and if things get weird, I'll come help out."

After some hesitation, Claire agreed. She decided Gretchen did lots of weird things for her without asking. So why not reciprocate a little?

Claire walked into the store with a glint of nerves in her eye, but overall, her faux-confidence walk was pretty convincing. She walked up to the counter to find Billy sitting at the register. All of a sudden, Claire wished Gretchen had come in with her. Billy was down right intimidating, like no girl Claire had ever encountered. Her hair was short, almost buzzed. She clearly had a lot of free time to lift weights, as her dense muscles showed through her coveralls. She wasn't very tall, somewhere between Claire and Gretchen's heights, but pretty much everyone was tall compared to Claire. At that moment, Claire resented that fact more than ever.

"What can I do for you?" Billy asked in a thick British accent, eyeing Claire skeptically.

"Hi, I uh--I'm here about a...thing" was all she could spit out at the moment. She closed her eyes tight and blushed, took a deep breath and tried again. "I heard you could help me with something..."

"With _something_? You sure you're in the right place?"

Claire had already had enough of the heavy stare and turned to look for Gretchen, who saw her struggling from through the window and entered the shop with a deep breath. "Hey Billy," she said with a half smile and a little bit of guilt in her eyes.

Realization clicked over in Billy's head and she let out a long "Oooh..." Gretchen walked all the way up to the counter and Claire couldn't help but wonder what their relationship had been.

"How've you been?" Gretchen asked, knowing the answer. 'Same old same' she heard in her head.

"Same old same," Billy said, her accent thicker than Gretchen remembered. There was a pause, a long, awkward, blush-inducing pause.

"So hey! I'm Claire," she butted in, sticking her hand out to shake Billy's, who responded with a firm grasp and shake.

"Hey Claire," Billy said, still looking at Gretchen.

"Listen, we need your help. You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important," Gretchen admitted.

They went on to discuss the issue at hand. They needed a security system that could detect Becky, but that would work in a dorm room, somewhere between baby powder and Fort Knox. Billy could do it easily.

"Thanks B," Gretchen said as they exchanged a look. Claire decided it wasn't necessary to address the tension and waited until they left to ask.

"Thanks Billy," Claire said, waving her way out the door. "We'll be in touch soon."

*

"Sooo..." Claire began playfully as they were almost to the car. "What was that about?"

Gretchen waited until they were in the car to answer. She didn't want to dance around it. "We dated."

Claire's eyebrows went up, but she wasn't entirely surprised. She was mostly glad to be getting the truth, though a slight twinge of jealousy seeped its way in. Gretchen started the car and continued talking as she backed out. "It was over a year ago. She was my first girlfriend. It was...intense." She allowed lengthy pauses between her sentences. "She doesn't have many friends, never did. I guess I kind of became her life in a lot of ways."

Claire ignored the fact that Gretchen was in Texas a year ago, assuming she would get that part of the story if and when Gretchen found it necessary to tell her. She was surprised by how much she trusted Gretchen, over and over.

At that point Gretchen was pulling into the parking lot back at school. They had been quiet for the last few minutes of the short drive. They were awkward minutes for Gretchen, but Claire was deep in thought. They walked silently up to their room and Claire went to sit on her bed, as Gretchen hung up her coat, lingering in the middle of the room. She had a concerned look on her face, but Claire wasn't giving her anything to go on. Claire realized Gretchen was worried.

"I'm not mad at you, Gretch...if that's what you're worried about." Claire always blew Gretchen away with the way she could read her mind.

"You're not? I'm sorry I sent you in there alone...it's just been a while since we had seen each other and I didn't know if she would want to see me."

"Don't worry about it," Claire gave Gretchen a small but genuine smile. "Really. She's going to help us. It worked out."

They exchanged smiles and got ready for bed. Claire fell asleep quickly, but Gretchen stayed up, her mind racing. She got up, grabbed her phone and a warm jacket and left the room.

*

She bounced her leg as she listened to the phone ring in her ear. It was colder out than she had expected, and the cold bench she was sitting on was only making it worse.

"Yeah?" Gretchen heard Billy's voice through the phone.

"Hey, it's me...it's Gretchen."

"I know what you mean when you say 'it's me'. You're still the only person who has ever called me after midnight."

They talked for a couple hours, until Billy could hear Gretchen's teeth chatter through the phone.

"Get on to bed, Gretchen. It's good catching up, but you don't need to freeze for it. Send your girl by tomorrow and we'll knock this thing out."

Gretchen was relieved they could still talk as friends. With a smile on her face, she said goodnight and snuck back into the room, careful not to wake Claire.

*

Claire went back to the shop the next day to work out their plan. They exchanged brief pleasantries before pouring over some blueprints Billy had put together. Claire realized Billy was looking at her after a while.

"You better be careful," Billy told her with a serious look on her face.

"It won't be as dangerous after-"

"I'm not talking about this. I'm talking about our girl Gretchen," Billy retorted.

Claire tried to pretend she couldn't understand Billy through her thick accent. "What do you mean?" She asked, playing dumb.

"I know." Those words, coupled with the intense stare she received were enough to understand that Gretchen had told her about her ability. Claire opened her mouth to defend herself, or to respond in some way, but Billy cut her off. "Don't be mad at Gretchen. She called me last night. She told me you had shown her a whole new world; said you'd shown her things that blew her mind. When she started to understand this new world, she finally started to understand a few things about me, too."

Claire got what Billy was saying. "You...have an ability?"

"Yeah, of sorts. I never seen it as much of an ability. More like a repellant if you ask me."

It always amazed Claire how people with abilities could find each other somehow. But meeting Billy hadn't been random. This made Claire wonder if there was something about Gretchen. When she thought of how easily Gretchen had accepted her ability, her whole world, and how she'd dated Billy, but now has feelings for Claire--she wondered if there was something about Gretchen that...who knows. She didn't allow herself to finish the thought. She found someone in her life who was normal enough and she didn't want to spoil it with thoughts to the contrary.

"Well, what is it?" Claire couldn't help her curiosity.

For the first time, Claire saw a tiny smile pull at Billy's lips. Granted, it was tiny, but it was there. "I'll show you mine if..." She didn't bother finishing as it seemed trite, but she got her point across. Almost as quickly as Billy didn't finish her sentence, Claire high fived the receipt spike, which was conveniently receipt free. Billy looked as surprised as her otherwise emotionless face could allow, and Claire just smiled as she pulled the spike out of her hand, sending blood squirting onto the counter. "Sorry about that. You got some towels or something?"

"Uuhhh...yeah. In the back," Billy slowly let out, gesturing slightly with her head to a closet in the back. Claire got up to grab a towel, but stopped next to Billy and held her hand out.

"Sorry, I almost forgot the best part," she said as her hand healed. She smiled a satisfied smile at getting an actual human reaction out of Billy and went on to fetch the towel.

While she wiped up the blood from the counter, she reminded Billy it was her turn to share. "So..."

"Oh...yeah. Uh, mine doesn't quite have the shock value that yours has." She paused for effect, then, "You should get on with it."

"I should get on with it? It's your turn to share your ability. You get on with it," Claire retorted.

"I am. You should tell Gretchen how you feel."

Claire was a little embarrassed, but definitely intrigued. "What...uh, what are you talking about? What's your ability?"

"I can see people's intentions. I'm not sure there's a name for it or anything, but it's like everyone's intentions are written across their foreheads for me. At first I, and everyone else, just figured I was particularly intuitive. But nobody could ever lie to me because I could always tell what their true intentions were. I guess Gretchen probably mentioned I don't get along with people too well. Well, I don't get much practice. People don't really like to hang around me much. I guess I can come on a little strong, seeing right through people and all."

Claire shouldn't have been surprised, but she was caught off guard by somebody else knowing how she felt about Gretchen, something she had been hiding away for a while now. "So...and this might sound like a stupid question, but why Gretchen? Why is she the one person you were able to get close to?"

"You're right, that is a stupid question. But I won't hold it against you because you mean well. Gretchen is the most honest person you will ever meet. She doesn't hold anything back, she's completely up front about her thoughts, her feelings, everything. The only reason she holds anything back with you is because she's so afraid to lose you if she lets it all spill out. You do a damned good job of hiding your feelings from her, from the world. At first I couldn't even read you. When you first walked in here, your intentions were clouded, you were confused about something. I guess it probably had to do with mixing your feelings for her with having to ask a complete stranger for a favor. But when she walked in, everything became clear. It was like when you saw her, she was all you saw." A smile came across Claire's mouth because she knew it was true." Anyway, the things is, she never felt uncomfortable around me because she didn't have anything to hide that I could find out about her...unintentionally. She was the only person who could stand to be around me, and the only person I wanted around."

"You still love her," Claire said, no question, just knowing. Billy just gave her a blank stare with pursed lips. Claire understood just how much Billy still loved Gretchen, because she was telling her to pursue her own feelings. She just wanted Gretchen to be happy, and apparently she thought being with Claire would do just that. Her heart warmed at the thought that she could actually make Gretchen so happy, and she was also glad to know that there was someone else out there who cared so much about Gretchen.

The quiet became apparent to both of them. "Your heart is in the right place, Claire," Billy finally said. "I get why you keep your feelings secret from her, but she isn't afraid of you, or your world. Even if it does get her in trouble, she'll be happier knowing how you feel than living a long life without knowing."

This was a lot more than Claire expected to hear from the girl who was supposed to be building her a security system. But she couldn't mess around anymore. Billy was right. Claire needed to tell Gretchen how she felt. No more excuses.

*

It was at that moment that Gretchen walked into the shop. "Hey ladies. Aced my test! How are things over here?" She sensed the emotion in the air and realized they had been talking about more than the security system. Ever since Gretchen realized Billy's insightfulness was more of a power than a simple humanly talent, she worried about Billy meeting Claire. Letting them hang out alone together for a couple hours probably wasn't the best idea. She enjoyed pretending that someday Claire might actually return her feelings, and she didn't want Billy to see otherwise and spoil her fragile hopes. The puzzled look on Claire's face and Billy's pained, though somewhat satisfied gaze didn't ease her fears any. Usually she would have a funny quip at such a moment, but all she could think of was, "Hey." 'Really? Hey? That's a funny one,' she thought to herself.

"Hey," Billy replied. "I'm gonna need a couple more days to finish this up, but it's looking pretty good for now. I'll let you know if anything changes or I need you for anything."

Gretchen and Claire take this as a hint that they should leave and said their goodbyes. They had another quiet car ride. Claire couldn't find the words, and didn't want to talk about it in the car anyway. Gretchen wanted to ask about what they had talked about, but she was afraid to know the truth. But she was an impulsive girl by nature, so when she was supposed to take a left to go back to school, she took a right instead.

"Where are we going?" Claire asked.

"A little place I found in the first week of school. I think you might like it."

Claire smiled, hoping it might be a subtly romantic perch atop a hill with a view of both the town and the night sky. She closed her eyes and imagined telling Gretchen how much she cared about her in such a place and a smile tugged at her lips and gave her heart a fluttering ache of nerves. Gretchen saw this happen, and even though she couldn't tell what Claire was thinking, the smile gave her hope.

"You don't have too much homework or anything right? I mean, is this okay?" Gretchen asked, realizing her impulsiveness might be a bit over-reaching.

"Have you ever seen me do homework?" Claire joked. "No, it's totally fine. It's perfect."

They winded around a narrow road that turned to dirt a mile before they parked. It wasn't the hilltop Claire had imagined; it was way better. The car was parked by a river gushing through a forest. Claire looked over at Gretchen with a childishly excited grin and hopped out of the car to get a better look. As she ran to the bank, Gretchen stood back by the car, admiring the girl of her dreams. She was only a silhouette against the river, but even her outline was perfect. Claire turned around and caught Gretchen watching her. She waved for her to come join her by the water, so enthusiastic she even ran back up and met Gretchen half way to grab her hand and pull her along. Once they got to the water, neither girl made an attempt to release the others' hand. They just enjoyed how it felt. The moon shone down on the water, causing it to glimmer beautifully. The sound of the river lulled them into a trance. The stars were bright, and the moon lit up everything around them. Neither noticed when they moved from hand in hand to arm in arm, but Claire suddenly realized her head was on Gretchen's shoulder and her arm around her waist, with Gretchen's arm over her shoulder, holding on tight.

Claire moved to put her other arm around Gretchen's waist and faced her, ready to admit her feelings. Gretchen gently moved Claire's hair back out of her face and let her hand rest against Claire's cheek and neck. Once she realized what she was doing, she pulled away and tried to take a few steps back to give Claire her space. She would do anything just to keep Claire in her life, even pretend she only had friendly feelings for her. She refused to mess up their relationship by slipping into a romantic situation. "Sorry. I'm sorry...I didn't realize I-" But when she tried to move away, Claire held onto her hips.

"Hey come on," Claire said with a laugh. She let go of Gretchen's hips and grabbed back onto her hand, pulling her over to a rock that stuck about half a foot out of the ground. She used Gretchen's hand to balance her as she jumped up onto it. This way, she figured, she could look Gretchen straight in the eyes. She rested her hands on Gretchen's shoulders this time, both to simply be in contact, and also to help keep her balance. "You don't expect me to believe you brought me all the way out here just to watch the water rush by, do you?"

"What do you mean? I just--I thought you'd think it was beautiful." Gretchen was confused and didn't want Claire to think she was putting her in an uncomfortable position.

"It is beautiful. It's amazing!" Claire said with enthusiasm, and without skipping a beat, she added, "And so are you."

Gretchen was floored, completely speechless. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but only small squeaks and vowel noises came out. The blush of her cheeks threatened to catch fire as she tried to figure out what Claire was thinking.

Claire, on the other hand, just enjoyed watching Gretchen look so confused and happy and confused some more. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the knots her stomach was tying. "I haven't been entirely honest with you. I let you think I didn't have feelings for you, and that's just not the case. I'm sorry."

"What are you saying exactly?" Gretchen asked, searching.

"I'm saying...I--." When words escaped her, she took a play right out of Gretchen's book and lunged.

*

Their lips collided and one explosion after another went off inside both of them. From one heart to the other, into their stomaches and elsewhere. Gretchen thought her cheeks couldn't get any hotter, but they defied her. She had no doubts anymore; that was all she needed to know that Claire felt the same way about her as she felt. This meant her brain completely shut off and she no longer had control over hands. They roamed and explored Claire's body, and she was thrilled to feel Claire's hands doing the same. Months of pent up tension spilled out like the river. Lips touched lips, necks, cheeks; hands felt curves, slipped under shirts, grazed the tops of pants.

They only split because Claire finally lost her balance and slipped off the rock. They both yelped and laughed and laughed until they could hardly breathe. They were doubled over, stomaches aching, but they were too happy to make it stop.


End file.
